Was so impressed by gwassgween and some other acrylic builds that I just ordered three 24" x 48" sheets of light bronze 1/4" cast acrylic. This is old stuff, heavily discounted, with a caution that the paper may not be removable. I'm assuming I can probably remove the paper anyway, possibly by extended soaking in water. I know many solvents are out. So question one is, what suggestions might you folks have for getting the paper off? Question two is much broader. I've never done any modding. I doubt that I'm actually up for a scratch build yet. Maybe I should look for something simpler to start. I'm open to suggestions. Would a good start be to buy an inexpensive metal case, and set out to add acrylic pieces? Maybe replace one side, mess around with the front a little? I'm hoping to get a couple of good ideas before I start. Be nice if I go this way to get a case that would support excellent air flow, but I also don't see spending a lot of money on a case I'm probably going to tear up. Thanks, tooManyHobbies
The easiest way to start doing scratch builds is to do just that, keep an eye on Fleabay for cheap, crappy cases nearby (Or sign up to your local Freecycle), and just make it look better as and where you can http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Colors-PC-tow...ting_DesktopComponents_RL&hash=item45f2eac053 is a good starter case, but there are some gems for 99p as well
First, Thanks! I see you found the Delvie's closeout sale too. I'm thinking about using a pressure washer to clean the masking off what I got, but I know even that might not be good enough. I had some plastic with fused masking before and it's no picnic to remove. I soaked the material in everything! -Even oil. The masking does not come off. They recommend soaking it in orange cleaner. -Anyway, I'd be prepared to sand the whole thing down if I were you. 3 of these sheets is enough to do a full scratch build if you keep it small. The one spot that gets most builders is the motherboard area. I'd go for a LianLi motherboard tray, and build everything else around it. -And remember to have fun! Who cares what it looks like! It's your first build. Go nuts.
Thanks, bigsharn and Cheapskate! Thing about scratch building an entire case is that I don't have all that much of a clue about how a case goes together. I _could_ look inside the LianLi from my build of three years ago, and take some measurements. But I'd rather just buy an inexpensive case, which I may end up cannibalizing, or just modding. At this stage, I don't know how to build a case to hold hard drives or dvd burners. I'm not at all sure what I'd need in the way of reset buttons, usb sockets, etc. I might be okay on putting in some fans - that seems straightforward enough. I'm okay with sanding all the paper off if I have to, but I sure hope I don't have to. May have to try some of that orange cleaner. I'm open to modding suggestions for a beginner. My only idea so far is to see if I can replace the side panel on an inexpensive case, substituting acrylic for steel, and adding some fans, as the inexpensive case I'd figure on mangling probably wouldn't come with enough. I've seen Sketchup plans from some of you folks, and did find some components. I did not find what I think I'd need in order to lay out a scratch-built case. Probably would get all the acrylic working I need on a first go from just replacing that side panel. Oh, and I figure I might need to replace the side panel of the case, anyway, to help a midTower case clear a good video card and cpu cooler.
